NCJ Number
98243
Date Published
1984
Length
204 pages
Annotation
This research, undertaken by the United Nations Social Defense Research Institute on the phenomenology of kidnappings in Sardinia, was conceived and commissioned after a surge in criminality.
Abstract
Data was collected on all classic ransom kidnappings carried out or attempted in Sardinia between 1965 and 1981. The data collected was recorded in a table and 95 questionnaires covering all kidnappings and focused on the following details: date, place, names of perpetrator and victim, status and level of relative proceedings, and eventual outcome. Some 187 kidnapping cases were taken into consideration with each case studied as a unit, even where more than 1 victim was involved. Data emerging from research and statistical analysis indicate that the number of attempted kidnappings increased proportionately during the period from 1976 to 1981. It was found that the majority of victims (74 percent) were economically well off when compared to the local average. It was also found that, out of 92 kidnappings, 17.4 percent of the cases ended with the victim's murder. Further data on connections between kidnapping and political criminality in Sardinia are explored. Conclusions suggest that the high incidence of kidnapping in Sardinia is related to geocultural variables relating to the conflict of the Red Barbagia, a Marxist-Leninist ideological group, with the system established by the state. Recent legislative amendments have drastically reduced the number of kidnappings in Sardinia. However, the ultimate goal is the integration of the sheep-raising society of the Barbagia into the rest of the country. Tabular data and 420 references are provided.